UPDATE: Shortlist for province's newest prison

Five Okanagan communities have made the shortlist to be the site of the province’s newest prison.

Proposals have been submitted by Lumby, Penticton, Summerland, the Penticton Indian Band and the Osoyoos Indian Band.

The City of Penticton submitted its proposal before deciding to go ahead with a referendum, which will take place June 18.

Mayor Dan Ashton has confirmed with the ministry the city’s continued interest in having its proposal considered.

The Village of Lumby has put forward two possible locations for the jail: a log sorting yard on the east side of the village and a fallow field area to the west.

Three sites in Penticton have been proposed for the prison: a current City Works yard, the Cantex gravel pit accessed of Okanagan Avenue East and a remote site on Campbell Mountain.

A gravel pit along Highway 97 in Summerland, operated by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, has been endorsed as the community’s preferred location for a correctional facility.

A representative of the Penticton Indian Band says he cannot disclose the location of the prison’s potential sites without the authorization of the band’s chief, who is out of town until Friday.

Brian Titus, COO of the Osoyoos Indian Band Development Corporation, says the band is considering two possible locations.

However, those sites are not being disclosed until the band consults with their membership.

B.C. Corrections staff have begun evaluating the sites recommended by the communities.

The decision will be based on environmental conditions, community support, available utilities and proximity to services like the Kelowna courthouse and RCMP lock-up cells.

The correctional facility will house up to 720 inmates on remand or serving sentences of less than two years.

The province hopes to build the prison in the valley by 2015.